It was a dark and stormy night. We were all gathered around the campfire when one brave soldier stepped up and said, 'Captain, tell us a story.'

And the captain said, 'It was a dark and stormy night. We were all gathered around the campfire when one brave soldier stepped up and said, 'Captain, tell us a story.' And so on. Dad used to tell us this going-nowhere story when we were little and bugging him, but Dad could tell some real stories too-stories about his family, or hard times, or exciting moments. He'd have as much fun in the telling as we had in the hearing.

So what is storytelling? Storytelling is one of the oldest art forms. Long, long ago-well before television and DVD's-gleemen traveled from village to village, telling their stories, entertaining the people. Their stories told the history of the clan and helped to preserve the past. Storytelling is alive and well in modern times. All of us are storytellers whether we know it or not. Did you ever make up an excuse for missing work or for not doing your homework? Did you ever exaggerate to make a funny incident even funnier? What about the fish that got away? Most of us are amateurs, but the performers coming to the RiverRoots Music and Folk Arts Festival are masters. Their tales will make us laugh or cry or think or just nod in recognition.

We hope you'll come and enjoy a weekend celebrating this ancient art.

Arbutus Cunningham's Bio

Spoonman's Bio